The recession forced Brinker, which owns the Chili's restaurant chain, to slim down and toughen up. The result is a smaller but better-run company that could reward both diners and investors.

FOR BRINKER INTERNATIONAL, parent of Chili's Bar & Grill, the Great Recession was like an enforced diet. Brinker emerged from the experience considerably smaller, but also wiser, with a renewed focus on improving existing operations at the nation's second-largest casual-dining chain before starting to grow again.

If management can stabilize revenue and boost operating margins by four percentage points, as expected, earnings at Dallas-based Brinker could rise by more than 10% a year. That in turn could mean happy hour...